Queer Voices: An LGBT Reading Series celebrates its 10th anniversary this fall, now the longest-running series of its kind in the country. Curated and hosted by Andrea Jenkins & John Medeiros, Queer Voices creates a safe space for LGBT writers and audiences to explore the day-to-day material of life without internal or external censorship.The first reading of the 10th Anniversary Season, presented is in partnership with Shades of Yellow,

Chardenai is a 20-year-old aspiring singing/rap artist who moved to Minnesota from the Carolinas. She is associated with Shades Of Yellow and Center for Hmong Arts and Talent, and is a part of In Progress and its Nexus Program, which provides resources and mentoring for artists in film, photography, and music. She released her first album, The 2nd Chapter, this past July, and is now working on her upcoming album, “To Infinity.”

Oskar Ly is a Hmong French American artist and organizer. She is a fashion artist, singer songwriter and writer whose work is rooted in the progress of social movements. Through shaping space and moments for new experiences, she lifts multi-dimensional identities and embraces authenticity, discovery, and shifting narratives. She enjoys sharing food, culture, and conversations.

Sonic Rain is a Hmong queer performing artist, musician, and emcee from St. Paul. She released her first EP, Unique, in November 2014 and is currently working on new projects and collaborations. She is on a self-discovery journey, abiding by the motto, “When life gives you paper, write your truth.”

ABOUT THE CURATOR-HOSTS

John Medeiros is a writer living in Minneapolis. His first book of poetry, couplets for a shrinking world, was published by North Star Press in June 2012. His work has appeared in several books and journals, including Among the Leaves: Queer Male Poets on the Midwestern Experience; Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on Faith, Religion, and Spirituality; Sport Literate, Water~Stone Review; Gulf Coast; Talking Stick; Willow Springs; other words: a writer’s reader; Gents, Badboys and Barbarians; Evergreen Chronicles; qartsilluni, Swell and Christopher Street. He is the recipient of two Minnesota State Arts Board grants; a Jerome Foundation Grant for Emerging Writers; Gulf Coast’s First Place Nonfiction Award; and the AWP Intro Journals Project Award. He received an MFA from Hamline University, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his work has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes, a Minnesota Book Award, and as a Notable Essay in Best American Essays of 2006.

Andrea Jenkins is an artist-activist and award-winning poet and writer. Andrea has been awarded fellowships from the Bush Foundation, Intermedia Arts, and the Playwrights Center and has won writing and performance grants and scholarships from the Givens Foundation, Intermedia Arts, The Loft, the Napa Valley Writers Conference, and Pillsbury House Theater. Andrea currently works collecting oral histories from hundreds of people in the Upper Midwest transgender community as an Oral Historian in the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota.

Shades of Yellow (SOY) is the first and only Hmong Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) nonprofit organization in the world that works to provide support, education, advocacy, and leadership development to Hmong/Asian Pacific Islander (HAPI) LGBTQ and allies.SOY is made up of a diverse group of community members, constituents, and allies. Our mission is to cultivate a community of empowered Hmong LGBTQ and allies to challenge what we’ve known and ignite positive cultural and social change. Our vision is a world where Hmong LGBTQ and allies are liberated and celebrated for who we are. We are based out of St. Paul, MN. SOY is unique in that we are the only Hmong LGBTQ organization in the world, thus we make an effort to have an online presence to reach out to other Hmong-API LGBTQ across the country.

As Minnesota’s premier multidisciplinary, multicultural arts organization, Intermedia Arts builds understanding among people by catalyzing and inspiring artists to make changes in their lives and communities. We provide creative people of all ages with the opportunities, tools, and support to come together across disciplines, sectors, and boundaries to connect, create, share, collaborate, innovate, think big, and act as catalysts for positive community-driven and community-defined change. We are a nationally recognized leader in empowering artists and community leaders to used arts-based approaches to solve community issues. By stimulating deeper community engagement and providing a platform for the stories and experiences of underrepresented communities locally, nationally, and internationally, we contribute to a stronger, healthier society.